There is a desire to enable an electronic keyboard to produce pitches between the twelve standard pitches in a controlled manner. Electronic keyboards typically follow the chromatic scale, a musical scale having twelve equally spaced pitches. The twelve pitches are C, C♯D♭, D, D♯/E♭, E, F, F♯/G♭, G, G♯/A♭, A, A♯/B♭, B, with each pitch a semitone above or below another. Normal electronic keyboards are equipped with a pitch wheel. A pitch wheel is a control on a synthesizer that allows the user to vary the pitch in a continuously variable manner. Portamento, or pitch bend, is the musical term that describes pitch sliding from one note to another. Vibrato is the musical term that describes a musical effect consisting of regular, pulsating change of pitch. A pitch wheel works through a mechanical linkage to a rheostat, so as to apply variable resistances to a signal. However, this type of control is inadequate for several reasons. First, it requires the user's left hand to leave the keyboard to use the pitch wheel. Second, the pitch wheel does not impose any variable tactile feedback on the user to reference the amount of bend being applied. Finally, the pitch wheel is too slow in that it does not allow the user to adjust the pitch fast enough, to create vibrato for example. Moreover, existing pedals for electronic instruments are equipped with one or more springs to return the actuator to its original up position after the applied force is removed. However, springs add to the overall height of the device, which increases actuator travel, and often do not support the weight of the user's foot at rest.
It is desirable to be able to provide a pitch modulating pedal having a natural feel. Specifically, the parameters sought to provide such a natural feel are speed, travel, pressure, and sensitivity. With respect to speed, it is essential that the velocity of the effect be controllable, facilitating both slow and fast pitch variation. The best design will be a device that can respond to both the sensitivity and the suddenness of the touch. Travel refers to the movement of the actuator, or the flex member of the device, from the up position to the down position. The movement of the actuator must be small to achieve rapid changes in resistance and equally rapid returns to the base pitch upon release. With respect to pressure, variable tactile feedback from the device is necessary to create the sense of touch by applying forces to the user. Such variable tactile feedback generates a feel for the amount of bend being applied to the pitch. Sensitivity refers to the amount of force the user must apply to obtain a desired change in resistance. The pedal sensitivity contributes to the ability of a user to use light touch to render a slight bend in the pitch. The sensitivity of the pedal is necessary to obtain vibrato and other sound variations between pitches in a controllable manner.
Thus, there has been a long felt need for an improved pedal for modulating an electronic signal. There has also been a long felt need for a pedal for modulating pitch of a musical instrument, especially for a keyboard.